By now, we all appreciate the vital role that Documentation plays in a tester’s routine. A variety of testing artifacts are produced, evaluated, authorized, used, preserved, and disseminated. Procedures for preparing a document, employing it, and identifying its recipients have always been clearly established.
This writeup will shed light on the little yet crucial field of Reviews.
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Reviews are also a variety of testing known as Static Testing or the validation component of V&V.
What You Will Learn:
- Types Of Reviews
- Step 1: Specify The Criteria
- Step 2: Carry Out The Check
- Step 3: Document Your Findings
- Step 4: Share, Discuss And Carry Out The Necessary Alterations
- Step 5: Control The Versions Of The Documents Used
- Step 6: Approve And Use The Document As Expected
- Key Points To Consider
- Handing It Over To You
Kinds Of Reviews
- Self-assessment of your own work
- Peer reviews
- Supervisory reviews
If validation fills one half of the testing principles, then verification fills the other, yet the rules can often be nebulous – So let’s rectify that NOW. In keeping with regular practice at STH, we’ll start with the questions: What? Why? and How?
What Items Do We Review?
All creations need evaluation. Here are some notable artifacts that usually undergo review:
- Test plans
- Test scenarios
- Test templates
- Test cases
- Test data
- Reports, and more.
Why Conduct A Review?
We review for the same reasons we test software, for instance,
- To find errors
- To ensure completion
- To verify adherence to rules and guidelines, etc.
How To Conduct A Review?
Following are the tasks involved:
- Specify the criteria – Have a checklist of aspects to review
- Perform the assessment
- Document your findings
- Share, discuss and implement the necessary changes
- Control the versions of the documents used
- Sign off and use the document as expected.
We are now going to elaborate each step in the “How” section – in simpler terms, the process to conduct it.
(Many of us testers—would you agree?—are not comfortable using word processors. For us, they’re synonymous with extra work or some higher-level managerial task we must do for compliance reasons we don’t fully grasp. Now, isn’t it enjoyable when you design an efficient process that’s easy enough for us to understand why we have to do it? Let’s dive right in.)
According to my viewpoint, the process for peer reviews and supervisory reviews is the same, as a supervisor is also a peer though they may have a superior status.
Step 1: Outline The Criteria
#1) What are your expectations? Some factors to consider are:
- Spelling errors (Seems trivial? Think again. Once I wrote “Wed Object” instead of “Web Object” in an article—This drastically transforms the meaning and it becomes too ridiculous to be taken seriously.)
- Compliance with format/template
- Functionality coverage and accuracy
- Ease of comprehension
- Alignment with standards – consistent numbering, naming conventions, etc.
#2) Develop a checklist – Checklists are immensely versatile. They can be as intricate as a review checklist or as straightforward as a grocery list. All they need is some time to be created, and once you do, it’s just a matter of marking items as DONE or NOT DONE.
#3) What method should you use to report the Results? – Choose a method that’s easy to handle, can be documented, and tracked.
- Sometimes it can be as simple as adding an extra column in an Excel sheet of test cases and writing something in troubling red when it’s not as expected.
- It can be spoken communication
- An email list
Step 2: Execute The Check
#1) Utilize the checklist you developed earlier to evaluate the document and give feedback.
Step 3: Document Your Findings
#1) Once again, employ the method decided in step 1 to record and report your findings.
#2) In reporting your comments or suggestions for change, treat it no differently than reporting a defect. Be comprehensive and detailed.
#1) Nobody likes being told their work is flawed or inadequate. So when providing critical feedback, pay heed to the following guides.
- Provide constructive criticism – Remember to critique the product, not the person
- Don’t compete – Just because you received 30 review comments on your test cases doesn’t mean you should strive to top it.
- Back up your comments with reasons
#2) Acquire sign-off.
#3) Implement the necessary changes
Step 5: Manage The Versions Of The Documents Used
#1) Keep the older versions of the documents. Name them appropriately and store them in a centralized project folder. They serve as proof of our work.
Step 6: Approve And Use The Document As Expected
#1) Once all the modifications are made and the versions saved, approve the review process and go ahead to use the document for its intended purpose.
#2) Another frequent question is – should we recheck after the changes are implemented? How many times will this procedure continue – work-review-correct and then review again? Until when?
No, a review doesn’t have to be repeated endlessly. It’s a quality control activity that focuses on verifying whether the testing aids have been created accurately. As always, achieving zero-defect documents is improbable. So, a sensible level of review, conducted once by a peer, is acceptable.
And there you have it. Doesn’t this process seem straightforward?
Key Takeaways To Keep In Mind
- Not every project has to abide by this formalized review method, but even if they have an informal method in place, these steps will aid in establishing expectations and guiding you.
- Test documentation schedules are typically dependent on the time required for creating and evaluating the documents. So, it’s integral to the process, even though we may not always acknowledge it.
- Reviews aren’t just for manual testing teams. Automation teams also participate in code walkthroughs, design reviews, and so on.
Typically, this is what a review comments document for test cases looks like. The comments are highlighted in red. They may not be authentic comments, but they serve as an example of how it’s done.
Example Test cases review Document: (click to enlarge image)
Time To Hear From You
So, do processes still seem formidable to you? Do you conduct reviews in your projects? Please share your experiences, obstacles, queries, and thoughts below.
About The Author: This post is authored by Swati Seela, a specialist in Manual and Automation Testing with over 9 years of industry expertise. She also serves as an instructor for our Software Testing Training Course.
If you’re keen on mastering Software Testing from industry experts, check the schedule for our upcoming class and get more details about this course on this webpage.
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